Stop unstable gun owners, combat weapons

GUNS AND CONGRESS

Mike Thompson

Published 3:45 pm, Tuesday, December 25, 2012

I have recently been named to lead a congressional task force on reducing and preventing gun violence.

I am no stranger to guns. In the home where I grew up, you walked by a gun rack holding two deer rifles, a shotgun and a .22 on the way to my bedroom and our bathroom. Before I was old enough to drive, I would ride my bike though town to the river to go duck hunting.

I am a gun owner, hunter, former co-chair of the Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus, supporter of the Second Amendment and a combat veteran who carried an assault rifle in Vietnam. I believe law-abiding, mentally stable Americans have the right to own legitimate firearms for legitimate purposes.

I understand guns, their purpose and how they are used. I understand that we have an obligation to make sure guns are used responsibly. I understand that there are some people who should not have access to firearms. And I believe that military-type assault weapons and assault magazines like the ones I carried in Vietnam have no place on our streets or in our communities.

They serve no hunting purpose, they aid criminals, and they too often are a tool for mass shootings. Whether it's a classroom in Newtown, a movie theater in Aurora, or a shopping mall in Oregon, our nation has mourned far too many of these tragedies.

There is no set of laws that will end these horrific tragedies and senseless acts of violence, but that cannot be an excuse to do nothing. It is time to act. And we need a comprehensive approach that goes beyond just arming more people with more guns to make this happen.

Congress must reinstate the ban on military-type assault weapons and assault magazines. Congress must improve our background check system to ensure that anyone who buys a firearm is a law-abiding, mentally stable individual. Congress must figure out how to close the holes in our mental health system and make sure care is available for those who need it. And Congress has to look long and hard at our culture's glorification of violence on our movie screens, television shows and video games.

As chair of this congressional gun violence task force, I will be working on these issues as part of a comprehensive approach to reduce gun violence and strengthen our nation's gun laws.

Nothing we do will bring back the 26 innocent children and staff who died at Sandy Hook.

But together we can work to make sure their lives were not lost in vain. We can ever so slightly ease the sense of loss suffered by the victims' families by doing everything in our power to reduce the number of lives tragically cut short by gun violence.

In the days and months ahead, I will be working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, mental health experts, gun rights advocacy groups, gun safety advocacy groups, school and education leaders, entertainment industry leaders, law enforcement officials and others to discuss a comprehensive approach to combatting the prevalence of gun violence in our communities. All issues must be on the table and everyone must be at the table.

And as I work with my colleagues on this task force, I will remember heroes like Victoria Soto in Newtown. After Victoria heard the shots, she hid her students in a closet and put her body in between them and the gunman.

Victoria lost her life. But she saved the lives of all the children in her classroom. Surely then, we can draw on her courage and live up to her example. We can give our time, our hearts and our very best efforts to do everything possible to make sure this kind violence is no longer visited on our children and our nation.

It's time to act.

Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, is a member of the California congressional delegation.

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